Mohanjith

Back in the day

Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to sight the island of Tasmania. He named it Anthoonij van Diemenslandt after the Governor of the Dutch East Indies. In 1803, Britain took possession of the island and established a penal colony there. The indigenous population numbered about 5,000 at the time of colonization but was subsequently decimated, leaving few survivors. In 2007, a task force was formed to eliminate what animal that was first brought to the island by European settlers?

Feature

In August 1896, a party led by Skookum Jim Mason discovered rich gold deposits near the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon rivers in northwest Canada. The news quickly spread to other mining camps in the river valley and reached the US within a year, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush that drew more than 30,000 prospectors to the area. By the time mining ended in 1966, the area had yielded $250 million in gold. What famous American author took part in the gold rush?

Born on a day like today

Burnett, an English-American playwright and author, is best known for her children's stories, particularly The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy. She began writing at the age of 18 in order to support her four young siblings after her mother's death. Her stories were initially printed in magazines, and her first novel was published in 1877. After her son's death in 1890, she embraced spiritualism. In what novella did Burnett record her beliefs about what happens after death?